"Come on, I've carried you before." Bel laughed.

"It's undignified." You said, folding your arms.

You stood with Bel, waiting for the others. It was still morning enough, the birds crowing in the distance as the sun sleepily made its way above the clouds. The autumn wind forced you to clutch your jacket stubbornly.

"Cold y/n?" Said Lucian. "We can pick you up something warm from town when we get there."

The white haired boy buttoned his dark coat as he made his way over to you, just near the edge of the dorms on the porch.

"You could always take my jacket, y/n."

You shook your head.

"That's alright. Besides, I still have your shirt from last weekend..."

"Hoooo, making these sleepovers a regular thing now are we?" Cooed a boy from the entrance. Avery leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed.

Lucian sighed in frustration. You felt the heat rise in your cheeks.

"Stop it." You chastised.

"It's best just to ignore him." Lucian told you.

"Mmmm hm." Avery swaggered over to the three of you. "Because that always works out so well for you."

"Why are you even coming?" Lucian rolled his eyes, trying not to look bothered.

"Can't trust me there, can't trust me here..." Avery shrugged arrogantly. "You think I want to be babysat? I'm older than half of you."

"You don't look like it." Roman remarked dryly as he entered the courtyard.

"Where is Dimitri?" Asked Bel. He smiled at you to ease the tension.

"Probably doing his makeup." Said Avery. "Got to look his best for Daddy Cadere." The boy winked at you.

You watched as Belmont burst into laughter; Avery looking absolutely thrilled with himself. He even got a snicker from Roman. Lucian pulled a copper flask from his jacket and quickly took a swig.

"It's a little early for that, don't you think?" You dared ask.

"If you want some, all you have to do is ask." Said Lucian, shaking the flask with a grim smile. He took another swig without looking at you.

"We're leaving now." Said the boy next to emerge from the doorway. Dimitri looked unforgivably handsome in his casual attire. Come to think of it- all of them were remarkably attractive.

You wondered if it was a vampire thing; you thought of asking them but decided against it. To the side, you swore you heard Lucian chuckle.

"Bel said he was going to carry me-" you began.

"Yeah I call dibs." He said enthusiastically.

"No I mean- you're not actually going to, are you?" You asked, looking at the five of them.

"Well, it would likely be the fastest way." Dimitri said with a shadow of a smile.

"Let's not make this any longer than it has to be." Said Roman curtly.

"Can't we just- take a train or something?" You asked quickly.

"No, and unless you'd like to swim, which I know you're very good at," said Lucian," then I agree with Roman. We should get going."

"The sooner Cadere gets back the sooner he can sort out what needs sorting out." Dimitri said simply.

You met each of the boys' gazes. With a sigh, you knew there was no use arguing.

"M'lady," Bel gestured to his back. "Your chariot awaits."

~
As soon as you stubbornly climbed onto the blonde's back, he shifted forward to support you better, with a "don't break her" from Lucian and a "Jesus Bel" from Avery.

The blonde just shrugged. You couldn't begin to fathom how easily he was carrying you. But as the other's voices played in the background, saying they'd follow behind, you had moments after Bel told you to hold on tight that you were flying.

It were as if you were a low flying raven, the trees disappearing behind you in a wicked blur of green and gold. Bel said something but you didn't hear it. The autumn wind brought tears to your eyes as your hair flew back and much like being on a rollarcoaster for the first time, your scream got caught in your throat. But you loved it.

You could scarcely hear yourself laugh as you blazed through the forest. When Belmont suddenly stopped, you knew you were a mess. But you didn't care. The last time you had that much fun was in the underground lair.

"Okay m'am, this is your stop." Said Belmont.

You had to take several breaths before even attempting to get off.

"And might I say, you still look very dignified."

A gust of wind on either side meant that the others had caught up, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Took you long enough." Said Bel.

"Show off." Lucian countered. "You alright y/n?"

You nodded vigorously. Suddenly you had the inclination to ask what else they could do. But you wanted to feel entirely safe again so retrieving Cadere was first on the agenda.

Roman brushed past the others and walked ahead, apparently eager to get this over with. Avery followed suit, humming a ruefully cheerful tune.

Lucian, Bel, and Dimitri escorted you past the outskirts of the forest. You were too busy looking at the colourful architecture to realize how frequently they glanced your way.

The houses had rooftops of every colour imaginable, perhaps to contrast the overcast sky. The buildings seemed lived in, lively, and somehow the splashes of colours here and there didn't look tacky, but charming.

But most telling of all was the distant music that serenaded you from beyond all those colours.

More than eager now, you quickened your pace, Lucian and Dimitri raising their eyebrows.

~
"This is nice." Said Belmont. His emerald green eyes studied the mug in his hands as if he were playing chess. "It's been a while since I've had coffee."

"I don't think you need it to be honest." You told him. He chuckled as he took a sip.

The café was bigger than it looked on the outside. It was made of brick, with strangely large windows, and curtains that looked like they belonged to someone's grandma at some point.

"They don't serve coffee at?-" you frowned, then quickly realized. "Never mind."

The boy gave you a sympathetic grin.

Now that you knew what your friends were, if you could still even be friends, you wondered more than anything why they were the way they were. A wave of empathy washed over you.

You wanted to be sensitive about it but before you could ask any questions, Lucian pulled up a seat beside you.

"Did they find him?" asked Bel.

Lucian nodded silently.

"Good." Bel said. "I hope Avery doesn't get in too much trouble."

"He could have done anything, Bel." Lucian replied darkly.

"He probably just wanted an excuse to make Cadere disappear for a while." Belmont shrugged. He took a sip of his coffee, then offered the cup to Lucian. "Want some?"

"No thank you." He replied. The boy seemed to be lost in thought. Or maybe on the brink of sobriety.

You were surprised at how empty the café was at this hour. There were handfuls of people here and there, but most came and went. Then again, it was early on a Saturday.

"What's Cadere going to do?" You asked.

"Nothing he hasn't done already." Roman said as he entered the café and leaned against the wall.

"So did he go back to the academy?" You asked.

"He went back to the dormitory and took Avery with him." Dimitri said, entering just after Roman.

"How did that go?" You hesitantly asked.

"We'll find out, won't we?" Roman said, lazily looking at you. "If we come back and find his ashes on the floor, probably not well."

At your expression, Lucian's eyes met yours.

"He's kidding." He said quickly, glaring at the redhead.

"So now that we're here..." you began, "are we going to do something besides drink coffee?"

You set down your empty mug. The night students seemed at odds with themselves, waiting for something.

"Well, y/n," Dimitri spoke, "I think we should go for a walk."

You raised an eyebrow.

"Beats standing around in here." Roman snickered, leaving on his own accord. The bell at the entrance of the café gave a little jingle as he disappeared outside.

"Let's go." Said Lucian.

And the four of you stood, thanked the barista, and followed the angry ginger outside.

It was just after noon, and you knew this because of the loud, albeit small clock tower overpowering the music not too far off.

"So y/n," Dimitri began calmly. "We know you must have an insurmountable number of questions."

The three of you walked together, with Roman just slightly up ahead.

"Yeah." You said with a ribbon of sarcasm..

It wasn't every day you found out the life you've always known was a complete and utter lie.

"How long have you been... you know, the way you are?" You asked.

"Well, given that nearly all of us are well over a century year old, our lives until this point would be a bit difficult to summarize..." Dimitri spoke carefully. "Lucian and I belong to pureblood families."

Lucian's golden eyes seemed to harden.

"I'm not a century year old yet!" Bel sang in delight. "Don't ask why I stick around these old timers."

"Why aren't you with your families?" You asked. "Why go to school?"

"Why not?" Lucian countered. 

You thought the answer was obvious.

"Being on Earth for this long has led to a lot of inevitable goodbyes over the years, y/n." said Dimitri.

"What about Avery?" You asked. Surely someone like him would be happier with the freedom to do who- whatever they wanted in life. Did he not have anyone either?

"Avery is safer at Arcadia than he is out there." Roman intercepted.

A thought occurred to you, elevating your anxiety.

"Which one of you attacked Sophia?" You asked.

"The girl who tried to attack you." Roman answered immediately. "Her name's Leyla."

You stopped walking. 

"She didn't deserve that." You said.

"We know." Lucian agreed. "Not all of us are like that."

"Cadere doesn't only mentor gifted students. Many times he's made it his job to help the more... troublesome ones." said Dimitri lightly. A certain boy with violet hair crossed your mind.

"What about you Bel?" You asked. His cheeks seemed to have very little colour in them.

"What about me?" He asked.

"You're not a pureblood... are you?" 

It took him a second to register what you were saying. 

"No, I'm not." He said. "I was bitten by a vampire when I was seventeen years old."

Your eyes widened. He looked your age but his expression now, and the many years behind his green eyes were suddenly making themselves visible through his voice. 

"And I never saw them before in my life. I know exactly how it feels to have something happen, and know I didn't deserve it." He said quietly. "But you ask us why we aren't with our families, y/n, and the answer is because most of us don't have families to go to anymore." 

"I'm... I'm really sorry." You said. You thought of your own parents. You wondered where they were right now.

Suddenly, a half-hearted grin formed on Bel's face.

"I'm almost a century year old. Every one of us has seen better days." 

Your group continued walking, Roman more disinterested than usual.

"What about you Roman?" You treaded carefully.

"I'm only here because I have to be." 

You lowered your eyebrows at the boy.

"Weren't you the one who suggested we go to this town sometime?" You reminded him.  Memories of you walking into that dark hall and clapping to turn on the lights flooded your mind. "You're not very nice lately."

"You're not very smart." He said, rolling his eyes. "You should lower your expectations if you don't want to be disappointed in people." 

The boy took long strides ahead once more, with Bel calling to him,

"Where are you going!?" 

To your surprise, Roman stopped, turned around, and spoke before continuing up the street.

"I don't have to tell you."

You stared at the rest of the boys, like being in a friend's house when your friend suddenly gets in trouble and you have to watch their mom yell at them. A bit awkward.

"Don't mind him," Bel assured you. "He's just moody because places like this remind him of-"

"Shut it, Bel." Lucian warned.

"Remind him of what?" 

"Nothing." Lucian sighed.

"Just bad memories." Dimitri offered as if it were somehow an answer.

You figured it was something you'd have to talk to Roman about. IF he ever lost the teen drama attitude and talked to you like a person for once. 

"Come on, let's head to the woods on the north side." Lucian chuckled slightly. You didn't think anything you were talking about was funny. But maybe the flask in Lucian's pocket was getting to him.

You were amazed at how drastic their secrets were but more bewildering was how little they seemed to have changed. You were hoping that once out of sight of the couple civilians roaming about, you'd get to see if what the almanac said about vampires was true.

But not before you took a little necessary detour.

"I'm just going to head to the washroom." You told them, beginning to stroll backwards.

"These are all townhouses." Lucian said.

"I know one of those shops has to have one just further down." You told them.

"I'll go with you." Suggested Lucian.

"No!" You replied loudly.

"Okay okay!" He physically backed up, staring at the others. 

Boys... you thought to yourself.

"I'm going to see where Roman went." Bel sighed, before skipping off.

"Don't go anywhere!" Lucian called; to you or to Belmont, you couldn't be sure.

But finally without the distraction of five- then four- then three night students, you could at least find a restroom in peace. But you didn't find a restroom.

What you did find, however, was a building you swore was impossible to miss. And yet, you didn't remember seeing it the first time you walked by.

A colourless roof with black shingles falling apart stood against the colourful nature of the rest of the town. It was shorter too- with a single front window that looked utterly frostbitten but was really so dusty you couldn't tell the difference. The only unmistakable sight was the stack of books on the inner ledge- what about, you couldn't see. The single splash of colour came from the turquoise door and moss growing over the handle that seemed to invite you inside.

Turning back, you didn't notice any night boys, and furthermore, you certainly didn't need their permission for anything, so you half walked-half jogged to front of the bizarrely conspicuous building. 

Just above the door, a worn out sign read,

'OPEN:  NOW'

There was no schedule or time listed for when it would close. So without thinking about your current predicament, or the reason you even came this way, you twisted the handle, and opened the door.

~
Fanfunctional here- thank you so much for reading! Not quite as early an update as I'd like but three days is better than a month wait anyway. A lot of crazy stuff is planned, my first week of uni is going well but keeping me swamped. The next chapter will probably be a bit longer.

An actual announcement is coming in a few days and I'm really excited. It mostly has to do with myself as a writer and some ways you can support the yandere bois if you want to! But more on that soon. I hope you're liking your first glimpses of the boys all together. Except Avery- he's too busy getting in shit for being a shit. Love you guys!!!! Thanks again! 

Stay real,

~ Fanfunctional <3